Matt Jacobson's Blog

King Middle School: Republicans vs. Knuckleheads

May 12, 2010

The Republican Party had a great Convention in Portland last weekend. According to Party Vice-Chair Charlie Summers, it was the largest gathering of Republicans in our largest city in a very long time. The Convention was meticulously planned by Charlie's wife Ruth and flawlessly executed by her team. The energy was fantastic. My family and I got a very warm welcome, and my team of volunteers did a fantastic job setting up our booth and rallying supporters for my Convention address. All the candidates showed well, and we have much to be proud of.

And yet, I come away embarrassed. It seems a group of knuckleheads associated with the Republican Convention decided that they know better how to decorate a classroom than the teacher whose room they used to "caucus." According to press reports, they tore down a poster, replaced it with propaganda they liked better, rifled through supply cabinets and left the room trashed and in shambles. Apparently, this group forgot that local control of schools means that Portland, or Calais, or Rockland or Thomaston all have the right to pick curriculum, administrators and ultimately teachers in their local schools. These vandals would not tolerate similar behavior in their towns. But yet, they decided it was okay for them to behave this way in Portland – when they were guests in an unknown teacher’s classroom.

These are not my values. This is not the behavior of the Republican Party I hope to lead after June 8. This is boorish, rude, disrespectful and destructive. This behavior confirms the worst stereotypes our opponents hurl at us. We are better than this. Ours is a party of solutions, of tolerance of people who disagree with us, of respect for law and our fellow men. We believe in civil discourse and spirited disagreement. We are not thugs. We do not behave like the mobs at G-8 Summits. I am embarrassed.

As a candidate for the Republican nomination for Governor of Maine, I offer my profound apology to the people of Portland, the teachers and staff at King Middle School, and most importantly, to the students. This behavior was wrong and should never have happened. The Jacobson for Governor campaign will contact the school to offer restitution, and I will offer to make an in-person apology to the school.

People in my party were wrong, and I will do what I can to make it right.